When Scotland played Cyprus, Scott McTominay showed West Ham what they were missing.
West Ham made a £30 million offer to sign Scott McTominay, a midfielder for Manchester United, but it was turned down. However, his performance last night demonstrated clearly why they ought to have completed the task.
Even though there was considerable talk over McTominay’s future up to the last week of the transfer window [Evening Standard, 24 August], West Ham never formally rekindled their interest after The Athletic reported on August 8 that their offer for the player had been rejected.
The midfielder, however, has already demonstrated to the team just what they’re losing out on after a fine performance on Friday (8 September) for Scotland resulted in an assist and a goal in their 3-0 victory over Cyprus.
McTominay has traditionally played as a midfield enforcer for Manchester, but he was given a more advanced role up front behind the striker for Scotland. This decision has paid off handsomely, as the midfielder is currently leading the Euro 2024 scoring charts with six goals.
The midfielder for Scotland was the most forward player on the field according to his average position [source: Sofascore], spending the most of his time even more forward than Che Adams, who started the game up front, as he attempted to pose a danger in the opposition area.
This strategy worked since McTominay scored, had three shots go wide, and had two more blocked as he wrecked havoc on the Cypriot defense. He was successful at involving his teammates in play because of his 89% passing accuracy. He also won 100% of his aerial duels and committed three fouls.
All of these statistics indicate the influence he might have had at West Ham. McTominay would be able to fill a position similar to what Moyes accomplished with Marouane Fellaini while the two were at Everton since he perfectly suits Moyes’ brand of play.
McTominay would be free to play this more advanced role, invading the opposing team’s area, and physically overwhelming the defenders with the addition of Edson Alvarez from Ajax.
There is little question Moyes will get McTominay playing to the best of his abilities if the Hammers sign him back in January.